


Piano Black

by AtropaSilentium



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Fate & Destiny, Grim Reapers, M/M, Music, Neallen Week 2019, Nephilim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 09:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19787647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtropaSilentium/pseuds/AtropaSilentium
Summary: Taking the soul of a dying human should be a simple task for a reaper. In theory, it should be a quick and easy mission, with little to no complications. Unfortunately, when predicting the outcome of a series of events he was meant to set into action, Allen had forgotten to take some important details into account.





	Piano Black

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for Neallen Week 2019.
> 
> Prompts: Silence; Music (July 13)

Taking the soul of a dying human should be a simple task for a reaper. In theory, it should be a quick and easy mission, with little to no complications. Unfortunately, when predicting the outcome of a series of events he was meant to set into action, Allen had forgotten to take some important details into account. Important details such as his soft spot for people with pure hearts and his love of music.

It was a mistake he realized all too late as he stood in a cramped music classroom and listened to the man called Nea play the most beautiful piano tune he had ever heard, shivers crawling up his immortal spine with each note. Long, tan fingers pressed down on the black and white keys with such practiced delicacy that Allen couldn't help as his silver eyes focused on them with intensity, transfixed as they smoothly glided back and forth over the piano. A peaceful smile pulled at Nea's lips as he played, so full of joy and love for his craft. 

Allen had never seen anything quite so mesmerizing. The scene looked like something you would see in Heaven—and Allen would know, since he'd visited the place a couple dozen times since his birth. Just watching the talented human had him absolutely enthralled. It was like Nea was spilling his heart out with the melody, bearing his soul for all to witness. 

Finally, after watching him for what seemed like forever, and yet not long enough at the same time, the music came to a halt. Allen wanted to protest the loss of such a lovely sound, but his initial disappointment faded when Nea sat back and stretched, his white button-up shirt riding up to show a lean stomach and enticing hips. 

Allen's eyes lingered on his abdomen a tad longer than was polite, thankful he was hidden by his powers. A snapping sound, followed by a soft, contented moan pulled his attention back upwards as Nea cracked his neck, relieving some of the tension in his body. The human's music was heavenly, but everything else about him appeared to be made for temptation. A lethal combination, in Allen's opinion. 

"Are you trying to make my job difficult?" Allen asked, making himself visible as he spoke.

"Wa- what the heck?!" Nea screeched, falling off the piano stool and landing on his butt as he gawked as Allen. "When did you get here?! I didn't see you come in!"

"I've been here for a while. Your human eyes just couldn't see me."

"Excuse me? My _human_ eyes? What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Nea asked, pushing himself off the floor.

"It means what it sounds like. Your eyes aren't cut out to see past my powers," Allen said, noticing the rare, amber color of the man's eyes. It was an unusual eye color for a mortal.

"Uhm, ok… Look, I don't know how you got in here or who you are, but you're being creepy."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Allen."

"I'm… Nea." 

"Nice to meet you," Allen said, ignoring Nea's wary expression and walking over to the large piano.

Smiling, he quickly ran his hand over the keys, causing a high pitched _"brrngg"_ sound. The piano was absolutely gorgeous with its smooth surface and small details. It made him wonder who created it. Were they a famous piano maker, perhaps? He wouldn't be surprised considering the amount of money the music academy had.

"Did you come here to practice?" Nea asked, shooting Allen a quizzical look. 

"No. I have always wanted to learn the piano, though." 

"If you want to, then why don't you? This _is_ a music school."

"I don't have the time."

"Hmm, which instrument are you learning?" 

Allen smiled at him. "None."

"None? Then you're a singer?"

"No. I don't play an instrument or sing." 

Nea frowned as he stared at Allen, his aura darkening with distrust. A light gray cloud seeped from his pores and clung to him. That only made Allen grin. Humans always showed their emotions so easily. It was one of the many things that made them interesting.

"You're right to be suspicious of me. I'm not here to learn music," Allen admitted, turning towards Nea and casually leaning back against the piano with a pitying expression. "I've come to retrieve your soul."

Nea blinked a few times and his aura changed color, blood red muddling the cloudy gray. "Alright, enough with the weird jokes. You disrupted my important practice session so you better have a damn good reason. Or are you just a stalker?"

The anger isn't what shocked Allen. No, people usually didn't take the truth well at first, often mistaking him for a mad man or a prankster. What shocked him was the little shiver of fear that ran down his spine as the human glared at him. He'd never felt such emotions from a mere mortal before. If that wasn't unusual enough, he stared on as the red aura took the form of crimson wings.

"You… What are you?" Allen asked, eyes wide with fascination. "Are you really human?"

A few moments after the questions left Allen's mouth, Nea's deadly aura faded, snuffed out by a bright orange, and his amber eyes filled with humor. "Haha… ha… haha, oh man, you really are good! You freaked me out at first, but… Keeping up this whole act and all! Let me guess, you're Marian's friend?"

"Marian?"

"Yeah, let me guess. He put you up to this as payback? He's probably still mad I ruined his last date, huh?"

Now it was Allen's turn to be confused. Who was Marian? Was that a friend of Nea's? With a flick of his fingers, he summoned a small black book and flipped to the page labeled _"Nea D. Campbell"_ . It had a brief summary of his life, along with a list of events that would unfold after his death, but nothing about _"Marian"_.

He went to ask if that was Nea's friend and caught him staring at the book in Allen's hand, no longer laughing and eyes filled with shock. "Ah, this is the book I use to find my clients."

"That's a really awesome magic trick!" Nea said, face lighting up in interest. "Are you a parlor magician? No wonder he hired you!"

Was Nea an idiot? Allen had used his otherworldly powers in front of him twice and basically confessed his purpose, yet he was mistaken for a parlor magician—a mere human who performs tricks using optical illusions and sleight of hand. Could anyone really be that oblivious?

Letting out a chuckle, Allen gave in to Nea's naive fantasy. "I wouldn't call myself a magician, but I guess it's only logical from a human perspective to call what I do a magic trick."

"I knew it! That's really cool!"

Allen grinned, enjoying the unexpected compliment. People never _praised_ reapers. If anything, they usually cursed them. Screamed at them for being unfair. Hated them for doing their duty. Despised them for existing. Being praised was a nice change for once. Even if he was technically bending the truth a little.

"Are you a fan of magic tricks?" Allen asked, wanting more of the handsome human's attention. 

"Kind of. I saw a live performance once and have been curious about how he did it ever since."

"Hmm, you could always learn how?" While it would be impossible for a human to replicate Allen's powers, stage magic was something he should be perfectly capable of learning. 

Nea rubbed his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "I tried picking up some books on it, but I'm pretty bad."

Allen thought it over, recalling what little he knew about the topic. "I could teach you?" As soon as the offer left his mouth, he cringed at his mistake in offering something that would require time. 

"You would teach me?" Nea asked, a bit hesitant. "In exchange for what?"

In exchange for what, indeed? Why did Allen make such a risky offer? Nea was supposed to die. He _had_ to die in order for the future to proceed as it was meant to. Once Nea was gone, his twin brother would become heir to the family's massive fortunes, and in his grief over the loss of his only sibling, he would go on to build a music school that's reputation far exceeded that of the one that they were currently in. 

The Ark Academy of Music and Fine Arts would accept students from all over the globe, and from all financial backgrounds. Their inclusionary policy would lead to the birth of many great musicians and artists. Those gifted people would have the ability to heal others through their creations. Nea's entire existence was just a stepping stone for Mana to achieve that destiny. A small sacrifice for a worthy goal. Yet, as Allen looked at Nea, he couldn't help, but feel that was wrong.

"I don't want anything in exchange," Allen said. "I'm offering as… a friend."

 _A friend._ Now Allen was the one who had gotten lost in a fantasy. As lovely and as enticingly beautiful as Nea was, it was far-fetched for a reaper to befriend a human, especially one on their list. Not to mention, he only had a few weeks at most to finish to job and move on to his next target. That left little time for friendship.

"That still doesn't seem like a fair trade." Nea said, gazing at Allen. "Ah, how about you teach me magic and in return, I will teach you piano?"

"You'd teach me yourself?"

"Sure, why not? I'm not a music teacher, but I've been told I play well."

Exceptionally well, if his earlier playing was anything to go by. "I'd like that."

"Just one condition. Be sure to tell that loser, Marian, I'm totally going to get him back for trying to prank me," Nea said, mouth stretched into a confident grin.

As he looked at the attractive and cocky human, Allen realized that he might have signed up for more trouble than he originally thought. "Sure."

They talked a bit longer, engaging in some casual conversation before Allen excused himself, saying he needed to head home and would visit again. Once he was away from the school and on a bike path, he let out a long sigh, staring up at the blue sky. He needed a long nap and something to eat. 

Allowing his body to lose it's physical matter and become spirit, he teleported back to his own home. Materializing in his home, he took comfort in the way the bright sunlight was replaced with gentle moonlight from his window. He never liked bright lights all that much. They were too harsh on his nocturnal eyes.

A mahogany throne sat in the center of the dark room, its wood carved to resemble bones. It was the only piece of furniture, making the room feel extra large despite its average size. Allen walked over and sat down on it, letting his head fall back against the wood with a _thump_. The day had been long and he had made some pretty awful decisions, but he couldn't find it in him to regret them. Not fully, at least. He wanted to get to know Nea more. From the moment he laid eyes on the human, he had wanted to get to know him.

The memory of Nea's shirt riding up passed through his mind again, and he groaned, fire pooling in his stomach. Perhaps, he wanted to do more than befriend him after all? It wasn't surprising. It _had_ been a long time since he had engaged in any form of romantic or sexual intimacy. Not even reapers were immune to their basic needs, falling victim to their desires every so often.

He reached a hand down to unbutton his tight pants, but paused when he felt the aura of another presence enter the room. A soft flutter pressed against his own aura and he frowned, automatically recognizing the one being who would dare enter his home without invitation. The soft giggles only served to confirm his suspicion. 

"Visiting without an invite again, C.C.?" he called out.

"I wanted to check up on you," the voice replied, sound reminiscent of the ringing of wind chimes. 

A translucent form wrapped their arms around his shoulders, their body phasing right through the solid throne. The embrace was warm and ticklish, almost like the feeling of dozens of feathers rubbing against his skin. It was a comforting, familiar embrace, and Allen leaned into it. He always did have a soft spot for C.C., albeit an entirely platonic one.

"Don't light elementals hate going out at night?" Allen asked, chuckling.

"We do," C.C. said, wrapping tighter around Allen, "but I was concerned about you."

"How come? I'm fine."

"In body, but not in mind."

Allen frowned, understanding their meaning. "Because I'm the dark to your light, you can feel when I'm bothered by something." 

"As well as other things," C.C. confessed, their warm breath hitting his ear.

Allen blushed. "Hey, that's personal!" 

"Are you in love?"

"What?" Allen asked, flustered by the uncharacteristic question. "Why would I be in love?"

"Is it just lust, then?" 

C.C. sounded disappointed, and Allen couldn't understand why since they had no reason to be concerned with his personal affairs. True, they were connected to him and therefore wished for his happiness, but that wasn't enough of a reason to visit him in the Underworld. Light elementals almost never strayed too far from the higher planes of existence. It was against their fundamental nature. 

"What if it was?" he asked, a tad colder than he meant to sound. 

They loosened their grip on him. "It would be sad to see you risk your reputation for someone you didn't love. You know the rules."

So that was it. "It seems you've been spying on more than just my _emotions._ Were you watching us?"

"God was worried about you. He knows you have a weakness for kind souls."

"I have never failed to do my duty."

"No," C.C. agreed, "but that doesn't mean you can't start."

"I won't. I know what I have to do. I'm just taking my time with this one."

"That's a bad idea, Allen. You saw what he is."

"What?" Allen had seen the wings hidden in Nea's aura, but he had yet to figure out their meaning.

"You didn't realize?" 

"I saw the wings. I don't know what they mean."

"Those wings could only belong to a member of the Nephilim."

Allen's entire body froze and he felt panic bubble up inside himself. Nea was one of the Nephilim? A child born of both angel and human blood? It couldn't be! The Nephilim were extinct. God made sure of it. Still, he shuddered at the possibility. If Nea were one of them, then his prolonged existence could mean chaos.

"What about his brother?" Allen asked. "If he's one, then his brother must be too?"

"I am unsure. I would need to see the other twin to know for certain."

Was it possible that Nea hadn't been singled out because his death would lead to Mana's success, but rather because God knew what he was? It wasn't impossible. Not with the way God ran things. However, it was cruel. Even more so considering Allen's relation to the Nephilim.

"The Nephilim are my cousins," Allen said, an old ache taking up residence in his heart. "We share the same angelic parentage on one side, except in my case, the other parent was a demon." 

"I'm well aware. I too carry both angel blood and faery blood. The cursed ones are my kin as well, though I can't say I share any love for them." 

No, they wouldn't. C.C. and the other light elementals were closer to Heaven, whereas dark elementals were closer to Earth. It made sense that the Nephilim containing human blood and the dark elementals containing demon blood would feel a stronger bond. That was why humans and demons often mated as well, creating the monsters of myth and legend. 

"God was wrong in destroying them." Allen whispered, remembering the tragedy that took place so long ago.

"He loves all his children," C.C. said, once again wrapping around Allen. 

"Except the ones who don't love him?" 

Silence filled the space between them, and he knew he was right. Everyone knew it. The Nephilim had done nothing wrong, their only sin being to have cursed God for condemning their parent's love as a sin. They were nothing more than lost children, fighting back to protect their families. 

"I'm right," he said. "That's why he sent me to give Nea heart failure despite the fact he has no history of illness."

"Do you like him?"

"You already asked that."

"I asked if you love him. Now I'm asking if you like him?"

Allen didn't really see how those two things were that different. "I… I enjoy his company. He's interesting, and kind. Funny, too."

"Then, you do?" 

"I… Yes. I like him." Allen said, cheeks tinged with pink.

Allen expected C.C. to scold him, warning him not to be reckless. Instead, they just planted a kiss to his head and held him, positive vibes seeping into his body with the contact. They stayed like that for a few minutes before the light elemental released him and their presence started to fade.

"Please be careful. I wish you luck, Allen, my dear Allen," C.C. said, disappearing in a burst of shimmering light.

"See you later, C.C."

Left alone again, Allen was filled with so many thoughts that his mind span. Nea _wasn't_ human? His eyes flashed with anger as he summoned his black book and turned to Nea's page, releasing a noise that was a combination of a sigh and a growl. To say he was mad was an understatement. Not only had he been sent to kill his own kin, but he'd been sent to do God's dirty work in finishing off an entire race. All while the rest of the immortals remained completely unaware of His schemes. 

Regardless of whose plan it was, he wanted no part of it. In the short time they conversed, Allen had come to see the good in Nea. The way he spoke was so full of life and love for the world that nothing about him could be considered evil. Not unless you counted being beautiful and talented as an irredeemable sin.

It was then that he made a decision. For as long as Nea remained oblivious to his true heritage, he would be left to live his life in peace alongside the humans. Granted, the time would eventually come where his lack of aging and growing powers would become too obvious to deny, but until that fateful day came, Allen would stay by his side. He agreed for them to be friends after all, and he planned to keep his promise, even if it meant provoking God's ire.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: I went back and fixed a few spots where I accidentally wrote just "Nephilim" instead of "one of the Nephilim" since the word is actually plural and doesn't translate too well to singular form. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
